I let out an involuntary sigh.
I had hoped there might be some useful information this time, but as expected, it was useless.
The Outer God carving these inscriptions must surely be a deficient-looking one, composed of green and white splotches.
"Mr. Tanton!"
While I was simmering with anger looking at the writing, Muyeon ran over and started rubbing my body with something like a piece of paper she pulled from her bosom.
"M-Ms. Muyeon?"
"I, I told you not to look... I told you...!"
Muyeon looked at me with eyes full of tears.
I mean, even if she doesn't know I'm immune, is it really something to cry about?
"Uh... what is this?"
"I-It's a protective charm. It blocks Outer God interference to some extent."
What, a protective charm?
It blocks Outer God interference? There was an item like that?
It didn't affect my mind, but the charm was working, as the end of it was gradually turning to powder and falling away.
"If it's that important, they should have given us one when they handed out supplies."
"...This is... hard to make, so it's precious. And, common sense dictates that no one reads the writings of the Scribe."
At least she uses it when needed.
...We haven't known each other long, and she's a criminal, yet she's this worried about me.
I could directly feel why Muyeon was so highly rated in the community.
I felt touched, and my heart warmed.
"Please don't read the writing on the walls anymore. If you try to deal with the aftermath... it's harder than killing someone..."
That was until I heard the last part.
So she was worried about herself, who's scared of killing people, not about me?
And what's with casually talking about killing someone right in front of the person?!
Take responsibility for my heart, which was genuinely moved until a second ago!
"..."
"Ah, no! I mean, this is... ugh... Anyway, you shouldn't look recklessly! If you do something like this again, I'll have to restrain you, so be careful."
Isn't it a bit late to try to clean up after saying everything you wanted to say?
Well, if a criminal doesn't listen and acts recklessly, trying to do something worse than suicide, anyone would be angry.
If it were me, I'd probably have kicked them first and asked questions later.
"I'm sorry. I'm just used to reading these kinds of writings since way back..."
"Used to reading them...? You mean you can read what this says?"
Muyeon spoke, flustered. I nodded.
"A... Mystic Scholar? It wasn't in your records... But if that's the case, I can understand both the ability to read text and that abnormal sexual preference."
Uh...
Well, a Mystic Scholar is better than a mental patient, I guess.
But what on earth did the Mystic Scholars do to make that 'understandable'?
...They must be a tougher bunch than I imagined.
Should I just let her misunderstand me as a Mystic Scholar?
Muyeon didn't seem to have the Hunter's knack for smelling lies.
"Uh... Ahem, I can read it, yes."
"Y-yes, I thought so. That's how you were able to defeat the Warden."
"Was the Warden that dangerous of an Outer God?"
"...Yes, it was. The Knight Order has tiers for Outer Gods. According to the measurements, the Warden was a Greater Outer God. If you're a Mystic Scholar, you'd know, but the Scribe who wrote this also belongs to that tier."
"The moment you understand that language, you go mad."
A Greater Outer God.
I knew Outer Gods had tiers, like the Lesser Outer Gods, but this is the first time I've heard the term directly mentioned.
"That's why Her Highness the Princess highly valued your feat of repelling the Warden."
As expected of an early-game unfair boss, the Warden was indeed a top-tier entity.
The fact that even the Hunter couldn't defeat it proves that.
"And the Gardener we're going to defeat... It just occupies the forested area, and no distortion phenomenon occurs, so it's rated as a lower-tier among the Lesser Outer Gods."
"Then why hasn't it been dealt with?"
"Uh, am I allowed to say? Uhm... Well... Rondane has the largest Brazier, which means many Outer Gods interfere here, so its priority is lower compared to others. If the Knight Commander had come, it would have been dealt with quickly."
Muyeon lamented that the Knight Commander was too busy to participate in such trivial matters.
The Knight Commander.
Even in the community, people didn't seem to welcome her.
But despite the reviews, does she have the skills to match her reputation?
"If it's such a low-tier Outer God, is it a level the two of us can handle?"
"Uh... Basically, a two-person team is standard, but that's just a precaution. There are knights who can handle them solo, so it should be fine."
Hmm.
Then it should be okay.
It's just hearsay and not entirely reliable, but it's a job we have to do anyway.
"Ah, right... Anyway, are you really okay?"
"Yes, well. For now."
Watching Muyeon mutter, 'As expected of a Mystic Scholar...' made my conscience prick a little, but I didn't want to be called an Outer God-lover or a mental patient, so I had to stay quiet.
"Then... shall we go in now?"
Muyeon approached the main gate, unlocked the padlock meant to keep it from opening, and pushed it open. Perhaps because no one had entered for a long time, it let out a loud screech.
Trying to step inside, the path was blocked by densely packed vines and trees, making passage difficult.
"Wait a moment."
Muyeon gripped her axe with both hands and began swinging it left and right to cut down the trees.
But.
Is that how it's done?
With each swing, some sort of shockwave followed the path, obliterating all the trees in its way.
...It seems it only looks like a toy; the physical force remains intact.
After swinging for a while, Muyeon turned around, breathing heavily.
"Phew, it's done... Shall we go in now?"
"Yes."
So this is the potential of the Knight Order members mentioned in the community.
...I instinctively thought I shouldn't act recklessly.
Muyeon took the lead, and I followed behind her. Beautiful flowers were blooming everywhere.
I didn't know what kind of flowers they were, but they had a fresh scent, making it seem like a rather beautiful place for an Outer God's domain.
It was a lovely garden, fitting the epithet 'The Gardener'.
As I looked at the flowers and then at Muyeon, I saw she was terrified.
"...Ee, eek!"
Ah, so these really are replaced by Coward Mode. I became certain.
"Ms. Muyeon...?"
"C, corpses... everywhere..."
W-wait.
What did you say?
These beautiful flowers are all corpses?
If she hadn't explained, I would have almost become the one spouting nonsense.
But still, they should have been replaced with something slightly related; changing them to flowers is too abrupt.
"Ah, ah. Yes. It's such a shocking sight, I was stunned for a moment..."
I decided to play along, pretending to see corpses, looking around with a dazed expression.
Only then did Muyeon retract her suspicious look.
"But why are there so many corpses here?"
"Judging by their attire, they're Candles. Ugh."
"Candles?"
"Y-you don't know? You know the Brazier protects us from the blizzard caused by the Outer God on the snowy mountain, right? The humans living outside of it are called Candles."
"They are a group who barely survive day by day, placing firewood in the barren lands where it's harsh for people to live outside Rondane."
"They are traitors who steal firewood from the Brazier. Sometimes there are those who use rat holes like this."
"Of course..."
Muyeon pointed at the flowers.
"...They took the wrong path and died a miserable death..."
The large number of flowers meant there were that many corpses.
They were people trying to steal, but they were still dead people, so I prayed for their peace.
May they be happy people in their next life who can live without doing such things.
"...Ugh, ugh, no. I can do this. I can do this."
The sight of her hypnotizing herself was truly pitiful.
If I saw these flowers as corpses, I might have reacted even worse than Muyeon.
But fortunately, I don't see them as corpses, so, whatever.
"Shall we go in for now?"
"W-wait a moment!"
How long does she plan to stall?
The faster we finish and leave, the less scary it becomes.
"Can't run, can't run, can't run..."
Perhaps finally deciding to move, Muyeon began her self-hypnosis. I walked in ahead of her.
Maybe Outer Gods aren't that dangerous if you can just talk to them.
Just looking at the inscriptions, they're all absurd, and the Warden was happily panting just because I played with it a little.
Moreover, the Lesser Outer God in my pocket even liked me enough to follow me.
I looked around to find The Gardener.
I walked forward, stepping on the cleared paths to avoid trampling the flowers as much as possible.
"Are you here?"
"Ah, don't! If you shout so loud...!"
For goodness' sake.
We need to call it out first before we can either fight it or talk to it.
And they said we can exit if it's dangerous.
The writing on the wall wasn't wrong last time with the Warden, so it's credible.
But even after wandering around and calling for a while, nothing jumped out or reacted.
I was wary of something jumping out from the thick foliage, but it mostly ended up being a pointless effort.
As we gradually moved deeper inside, I asked Muyeon.
"Is it really here?"
But Muyeon behind me said nothing.
"Ms. Muyeon?"
I asked again, but no answer came back.
No matter how scared she is, I thought she would at least answer. I turned my head to look behind me, but Muyeon, who I thought was following, had vanished without a trace at some point.
Huh, wha?
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